


Snow Angels

by bar_allen



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Snow Angels, a very olivarry christmas, olivarry christmas 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 21:31:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8940097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bar_allen/pseuds/bar_allen
Summary: Barry and Oliver talk about their regrets and make snow angels.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've never made a snow angel so this is me making snow angels through my OTP.

Oliver knew that this year, there would be no Christmas celebrations in the foundry - he still refused to call it the Arrow Cave.

Felicity was mourning Billy, Curtis was struggling to get into the holiday cheer without his husband, Evelyn had betrayed the team and Oliver had no idea where the rest of the team were.

He considered going to Susan’s house but then decided against it. He didn’t want to get her involved in everything that had been happening, and going to her house in the middle of the night could put her in the danger of being another person targeted by Prometheus because of him.

That’s why, a few hours later, Oliver was parking his bike in front of the Wests’ house in Central City.

He stood for a moment to take a look at the house. It was covered in decorations and lights, and from the window, Oliver could see a Christmas tree and the figures of people sleeping on the sofas and the floor.

‘What am I doing here?’ Oliver thought to himself. He stared at the decorations covering the warm house and remembered the events of the previous week, ‘God, it’s only been one week.’

His mind started going over the what-ifs and it broke his heart to realise that, had they not been successful in talking Barry off the ledge, the Christmas cheer surrounding the house would have been replaced with sorrow and grief.

Oliver shook those thoughts away, then tried to remember why he was there in the first place.

Right, he felt extremely lonely and really didn’t want to spend Christmas alone that year.

His thoughts were interrupted by the front door of the house opening.

“Oh, hi, Oliver!” Barry greeted the man warmly.

“Hi, Barry…” Oliver replied, startled by the speedster, wondering why the hell was he awake and what was he doing outside at such an hour.

“I heard the sound of your bike… Well, I didn’t really know it was yours, it could have been any bike, but when I saw the shadow of someone standing outside I thought it might be you,” Barry answered his unvoiced questions, “what are you doing here? I don’t mean it in a rude way! Just wondering… is everything okay?”

Oliver hesitated. “No,” he answered truthfully.

Barry sighed in understanding and didn’t press the subject. Instead, he went inside, grabbed his coat and scarf, stepped back outside and closed the door behind him.  
“What are you doing?” Oliver asked.

“Walk with me?” Barry requested, ignoring the older man’s question. Oliver nodded slowly, and the two began walking.

At first, they walked in silence, but Oliver felt relaxed, warm inside. The presence of the speedster beside him, the invisible lightning surrounding him, and his steady breathing were all enough to bring calmness to Oliver’s heart.

“So, what’s with all the… bodies on the floor back in your house?” Oliver broke the silence.

“Oh, we had some sort of… eggnog competition? Yeah, turns out everyone’s grandmas were alcoholics,” Barry chuckled, the sound of his small laugh bringing a smile to Oliver’s face.

“But since alcohol doesn’t really affect me, I’m the only one who remained unaffected,” Barry continued with a sigh.

“That must suck. There are times when I don’t think anything could help me but alcohol.”

“Well, I’ve learnt to cope, find other ways. Running helps a lot. Just the feeling of the wind rushing by my face, electricity surrounding me, the invisibility my speed gives me… it all still feels surreal sometimes,” Barry said with a content smile then smirked, “and besides, I was never much of a drinker anyways.”

This time, it was Oliver who chuckled.

“I guess it comes with the ‘billionaire, playboy’ status.”

“But you’re not a playboy anymore,” Barry said, stopping and placing a hand on Oliver’s shoulder causing the man to turn and look at him.

“Over the past ten years, you’ve grown so much. I know it may not have been because of the most… pleasant circumstances, but what you’ve gone through, what you’ve endured, what you’ve encountered over those years… They all shaped you into a hero, showing the world who you really are, showing everyone the light inside you.”

Oliver stared Barry in the eyes. “You know, don’t you?”

Barry sighed. “… Felicity told me.”

Oliver nodded and looked away from Barry then started walking again, Barry following close beside him. “Then you should know that I am no hero.”

“But Oliver-“

“I killed him, Barry! And not just Billy, but I have killed tens, probably hundreds more! How could you say that I’m a hero?”

“Because you are, Ollie.”

“No… You are a hero, Barry, because you are so much better than me. You are the one with the light inside and everyone knows it. You are a real beacon of hope to everyone,” ‘to me,’ Oliver almost said. “You don’t kill people. You are not poison to the people around you, unlike me…”

Barry scoffed. “Wrong again, Ollie. I have gotten so many people killed, because of my selfishness.”

“If you’re talking about Flashpoint, then-“

“It’s not just Flashpoint, though. Cisco’s brother… Diggle’s daughter… they’re not the only people gone because of me. Hundreds of others died because of the singularity I caused when I almost saved my mother a year and a half ago. Eddie and Ronnie were the real heroes that day, and they’re both dead… even my parents. All dead. Because of the Flash. Because of me.”

“Barry…” Oliver had known that Barry was blaming himself for many things, but that was the first time he had actually heard the speedster talk about everything that had been bothering him. He couldn’t believe that the young man who had saved his life many times was blaming himself for so many deaths.

“It’s okay, Ollie. And anyways, we’ve arrived,” Barry stopped walking and smiled.

Oliver looked at what Barry was smiling at and found himself looking at an empty playground.

“Why did you bring us here?” Oliver asked, his eyes landing on Barry.

“This is where I used to come during winter with my parents. It’s where they first taught me about snow angels,” Barry’s smile grew fonder at the memory he was clearly recalling.

Then the speedster looked at the vigilante and grinned childishly. “Let’s make snow angels!”

Oliver rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. “Barry, I’m 31.”

“And I’m 27. Your point?”

“My point is that we might be a little too old for this.”

Barry put his hands on both of Oliver’s shoulders, looking him straight in the eyes. Oliver swore he saw yellow lightning crackling around the speedster’s pupils.

“You, my friend, are no fun at all.”

“Yeah, I believe that’s already been established by both of our teams.”

Barry laughed. “Well, I’m gonna have to change that.”

Then Barry dragged Oliver towards the snow-covered playground and laid down on the ground. Oliver stood on top of him and watched as he closed his eyes and started moving his arms and legs up and down, right and left. He couldn’t help but smile widely at how adorable Barry looked.

Oliver was too distracted by the scene that he didn’t see the lightning crackling around Barry. One moment the older vigilante was standing, the next he was laying on the ground with Barry on top of him.

“Your turn,” Barry grinned, then noticed their positions, “Oh, I didn’t mean to land on top of you. I was just too excited- wait, wrong choice of words… Sorry!”

“It’s fine, Barry,” Oliver laughed.

“Okay,” Barry got up and stood close by Oliver. “Your turn,” he repeated.

Oliver didn’t want to disappoint Barry, but making a snow angel felt too awkward, too ridiculous.

“Come on, Ollie. Trust me, it will make you feel better.”

The vigilante sighed and slowly started to move his limbs.

“This is ridiculous,” he said at first but then after a few seconds, he began to enjoy himself. He remembered when he was younger and would make snow angels with Thea, Tommy, Laurel and Sara. Oliver didn’t even know he still had those memories. They were buried down, far too deep that he was surprised he could still recall them.

“Makes you feel nostalgic, doesn’t it?” Barry asked, bringing Oliver back to the real world, “Since my mother’s death, I’d come here every year and make snow angels. It would remind me of my parents and of how my life was before she was murdered… I thought it would help get your mind off things.”

“It did,” Oliver sat up and grabbed Barry’s hands, pulling him down towards him, “Thank you, Barry.”

When Oliver left Star City earlier that day, he hadn’t known why he felt pulled towards Central City and towards the Flash’s house. But now, sitting with the speedster next to their snow angels, both covered in snow but not minding the cold, he was glad he had driven 600 miles over night.

“I was worried I would spend this Christmas alone,” Oliver said after Barry ran them back to his house and offered him a change of clothes and a place to sleep.

“You will never be alone,” Barry smiled, “Not while I’m around.”

“Merry Christmas, Barry.”

“Merry Christmas, Ollie.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! All comments are welcome :)


End file.
